Ryley Towler is already focusing on the start of next season - and making sure he is in Pompey's starting XI.

The defender has been back in the side in the past couple of games after a spell on the sidelines and has done well on his recall alongside Di'shon Bernard.

After helping the Blues draw 1-1 at Derby in their penultimate game, he was asked about his recent spell out of the team, and the defender told the Pompey media: 'That’s football. There are going to be times when it happens and you just have to keep grafting.

'The manager said to keep working hard and so I got my head down and then got back into the team. Now I want to stay there.

'You have a nice rest over the summer and then make sure you come back fit and hopefully be in that starting 11 on the opening day of the season.'

Towler said the team were not unhappy with their Pride Park point but were a little disappointed not to have built on their 1-0 lead: 'It’s always going to be tough coming to Derby, especially when they need points to get into the play-offs. But I thought we did really well after the first 20 minutes, playing some nice football and creating a few chances.

'We had to dig deep towards the end to get the point and we battled really well to make sure we got the job done. They had a lot of early chances, but it settled down after that and the important thing was that we were still in the game.

'We scored and then probably should have got a couple more goals during that period, although I think we’re pleased overall. We’re looking to end the season in a positive way and so now we want to make sure we win the final game.'

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